Shower head



Jan. 10, 1950 w, THORNTON 2,493,840

SHOWER HEAD Filed July 28, 1947 INVENTOR- W.R.THORNTON B /9 2/ fiy-b @fizlwWfi Patented Jan. 10, 1950 Wilfred Rush Thornton, Toronto, Ontario, j .Canada Application July 28, 1947, Serial No. 764,066 Y This invention relates to a shower head.

Shower heads have been provided in the past. To my knowledge, however, none of them are capable of producing an extremely fine spray. There is considerable need for a shower head which is capable of producing such' a fine spray in hospital work; Many hospital patients have extremely sensitive skin and it is impossible to use the spray or shower from the conventional shower head on them. I have invented a shower head which is" capable of "producing an extremely fine spray and which will not irritate the most sensitive skin. The head is also capable of producing quite a coarse and invigorating spray if desired.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to produce a shower head spray which is capable of emitting an extremely fine spray which will not irritate the most sensitive skin.

It is a further object of the invention to produce a shower head having the above mentioned characteristics which can be adjusted to produce a relatively coarse and invigorating spray if desired.

It is a further object of the invention to produce a shower head having the above characteristics which is rugged and which is cheap to manufacture.

With these and other objects in view the shower head of this invention generally comprises a nozzle having a valve chamber adapted to permit the flow of a fluid therethrough and. to partially break it up into a spray and a means for connecting the-nozzle to a w ater supply. Flow through the-chamber from'the water supply is controlled by means of a valve adjustable Within the chamber. The water, on leaving the nozzle, is directed against a rotatably mounted impeller. The'force of the water causes the impeller to rotate and the rotating motion of the impeller breaks the fluid up into a fine spray. The amount of water passing and the consistency of the spray are controlled by adjusting the valve within the valve chamber.

The invention will be clearly understood-after reference to the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional view taken through a shower head of this invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the form of valve used in Figure l. 7 n

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the impeller.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the impeller.

Figure 5 is a partial section showing a further 3 Claims. (Cl. 299-426) adjustment of the valve within the valve chamber.

Referring to the drawings and especially to Figure l, A represents a shower head of this invention which in general comprises a nozzle B, having a valve chamber l0 therein and a valve M adjustable within the chamber, and a cupshaped member C, adjustable with respect to the nozzle B and having means in connection therewith for the purposes of adjusting the valve ll. within the chamber I0.

The nozzle 13 comprises a body portion [2 which, in the embodiment shown, has an exterior thread 13 whereby the nozzle can be connected to a water tap or the like by means of a threaded portion M in the connector l5 so that the valve chamber l9 communicates with the tap opening. The valve chamber ill is formed with a conical seat H5 at its lower end, and the valve H has a head I! with a .conical'portion l8 at its lower extremity adapted to snugly sit in the seat it to prevent the flow of water when it is so adjusted. This adjustment will .be described in detail later. I

The orifice of the nozzle is preferably flared outwardly as at l9 to direct the flow of water against an impeller member 20, which is rotatably mounted in advance of the nozzle. This will be described later..

The head I! of the valve ll is substantially triangular in cross section and is designed to fit loosely within the valve chamber It! so as to permit a free flow of water therethrough. A pin portion 2| projects from the head. ll and is adapted to extend beyond the valve chamber opening 22 and nozzle orifice tobear-against a bracket 23. V

The bracket 23 is rigidly mounted on the inner wall 24 of cup-shaped member C, and member 0 is in turn adjustably carried by a nut 25. The nut 25 is adjustable on the threaded exterior portion I 3 of the body of the nozzle body l2 to adjust the position of the cup-shaped member C. It will be apparent that by adjusting the nut 25 on the threaded portion of the nozzle l2, the valve H can be adjusted longitudinally within valve chamber H] from a completely closed position, in which the conical portion l8 of the valve head I! is seated on the valve seat It, to various opened positions in which various amounts of flow are permitted to pass through the nozzle.

The pin 2! has a bead 26. This bead is designed to partially break the water into a spray as it passes through the nozzle and is so designed that it can pass through the Valve chamber opening 22. In the embodiment shown, the bead is conically shaped on either side of a central band.

The impeller 20, shown in detail in Figure 3, is formed from any suitable metal and, in the embodiment shown, has an annular wall portion 21 and two vanes 28. A bar 29 extends between the walls 21 and the impeller is suitably journalled within the bracket 23 by means of pin 30 which passes through said bar 29. As mentioned above, the orifice l9 of the nozzle is designed to direct the flow of water against the impeller walls 21 and blades 28. This causes the impeller to rotate and to emit the water in a fine spray. I have found that a more satisfactory nozzle action is obtained if ventilating openings 3| and 32 are formed in the nozzle B, in the region of the flared area l9, and in the cup member C respectively. 1

In use, water coming from the tap travels through thevalvewchamber 10.. past the loosely fitting valvehead "through the valve chamber opening 22 and is directed by the nozzle orifices I9 against the impeller whereby the impeller is caused to rotate.- The water, on passing the bead 26 on the valve ljl,is partially broken into a spray. On passing through the impeller, however, the water is further broken up into an extremely fine spray...

The fineness of the spray can be readily adjusted by varying the positionv of the valve H within the valve chambenflAs indicated above, this can 'be done, by rotating the cup member C which is rigidlysecured to .the nut 25. As the cup is rotated, the nut 25 screws on the threaded portion, whereby bracket 23 bears against the valve pin 2| to vary the position of the valve within the nozzle. When the valve is in the position shown in Figure. 1, a relatively finespray is produced. An extremely fine spray can be produced by positioning the, valve such that'the head 26 lieswithin the valve opening 22 ,asshown in Figure 5. A coarse pulsating spray is producedwhen the bead 26'is positioned in the orifice 19 of the. nozzle, as shown in the .dottedline position in Figure 5.

From the above, it willbe apparent that I have disclosed a shower head .which accomplishes the purposes of thisinvention. [With this head it is possible to produce a very fine spray and a coarse pulsating spray., The headisalso cheap to manufactureand is extremelyrugged.

Changes and modifications in the embodiment of theinvention shown will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is,.therefore, not intended that the foregoing\ specification should be read in a limiting sense except 'for...the limitations expressed in the following'claims.

. What I claim as myinvention is:

1. A shower head comprising a nozzle adapted for connection to a' fluid supply, an impeller rotatably mounted below said nozzle, said impeller having an annularwalljportion vanda plurality of vanes depending therefrom,.sa'id nozzle having a valvechamber, and a, valve adjustable within the chamber to varythejfiow of water. therethrough, said valvehaving ahead with a crosssection substantially smallerthan the cross section of the valve chamber and a pin extending from said head and adapted to project through the orifice of said 'nozzle, said valve pinhaving a bead thereon I 7 'Name Date 434,633 Fayod et-al Aug. 19, 1890 974,176 7 Newman Nov. 1, 1910 55 1,161,205 Finley Nov. 23, 1915 1,331,558 l3 unch Feb. 24, 1920 1,416,574 Oney May 16, 1922. 1,524,964 Baker Feb. 3, 1925 1,611,513 Cook et al. Dec. 21, 1926 1,632,611 Lloyd June.14, 1927 1,740,759 .Wurster Dec. 24, 1929 1,920,721; Iirrell l Aug. 1, 1933- 1,994,389 Frisco Mar. 12, 1935 2,044,445 Price et a1 June 16, 1936 2,441,565 L Corwin May 18, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Great Britain Aug. 16, 1881.

4 adapted to partially break the water up into a spray as it passes through said nozzle, means adjustable with respect to the nozzle and adapted to bear against the projecting portion of said pin to adjust the position of said valve within the valve chamber and vary the amount and characteristics of the flow therethrough, said nozzle having an orifice adapted to direct the flow of water against the inner surfaces of said wall portion and of said vanes of said impeller whereby the eimpeller is caused to rotate and further break up the water into a finer spray.

2. A shower head comprising a nozzle adapted for connection to a fluid supply, a cup-shaped member, said nozzle having an exterior threaded portion adapted to receive the base of said cupshaped member in threaded engagement, said nozzle having'a valve chamber, and a valve adjustable'therein adapted to vary the flow through said nozzle and partially. break it up into a spray, said valve having. a portion which is adapted to project through the orifice of said "nozzle, means exterior of said valve. chamber for adjusting said valve' within said valve chamber, said means including a bracket rigidly secured to said cup and adapted to bear against the projecting portion of said valve whereby the position of the valve can be varied within the .valve. chamber as the cup is threaded on. the nozzle, an impeller rotatably mounted within said cup member below said nozzle, said impeller having an annular Wall portion and a plurality of varies depending therefrom, said nozzle having an. orifice adapted to direct the flow of water against the inner surfaces of said wall portion and of said vanes of said impeller whereby the impeller is caused to rotate and further break up the water into a fine spray and project it beyond. said. cup-shaped member.

3. A shower head'as claimed in claim 2 in which said cupmember has at least one air vent adja-. cent its base and in which said nozzle has at least one air duct extendingfrom the exterior to the interior of the discharge orifice.

l, RUSH THORNTON.

' REFERENCES CITED rThe ffollowingreferences file of this patent: v UNITED STA ES PATENTS Number are of'record in the 

